Water cooling contraption

[Corn Cracker]

I've been kicking the idea of using it for a while, today was the day.
I've had a heat exchanger out of a tankless water heater for a couple of years, while filling up my big 13g buckets and hauling them to garage on a dolly, I had enough and fashioned this together

20250503_180401.jpg

20250503_180401.jpg

You can see in the bottom pic where I had to patch a split due to it freezing.
I sat on top of a floor drying fan and it worked pretty good, I'd say twice as efficient as without.

[acfixer69]

These cooling tower type closed condensate system work but the delta temp of water is the key. You need to put very hot condenser water into it to get efficiency. You will need a bigger coil "heat exchanger" to make it work.

[Corn Cracker]

I was just trying to make my bucket of water last a little longer before I had to switch, I went from about a half gallon of product to a gallon before I had to change. I'm satisfied with that for now. I can run a full keg with 3 buckets instead of 5.

[acfixer69]

Great if it works for you. I just wanted to point out radiator size and temp differences matter.

[Corn Cracker]

I've seen a couple of pics of car radiators being used with a fan blowing across them, I didn't have an extra one of those around, although I might be able to get one free soon. I could keep the fans mounted to it and run them off a power converter. Hmmm

[bilgriss]

Be very careful about using a radiator that's used. The stuff that runs through and crusts up on the inside of them is not exactly safe to drink.

[Corn Cracker]

Oh wow, it's just cooling water for the condenser

[Yummyrum]

Be very careful about using a radiator that's used. The stuff that runs through and crusts up on the inside of them is not exactly safe to drink.

Oh wow, it's just cooling water for the condenser

Love your Shed build cooler Corny
Hell , saved yourself carrying some buckets .Thats a win

Guess’n bilgriss just watching your back . Most radiators run Ethylene Glycol ( the green coolant) that stuff is as toxic as Methanol . All good so long as it stays in the coolant loop …… but condensers been known to leak …….. and that nasty glycol residue transfer from the coolant side to the product side . Slim chance but always be thinking .

[firepower]

Due to constraints I have to distill on a balcony, and therefore for me a closed circuit cooling system was a must. I really did not want to mess with changing buckets/barrels of water mid run, so for what its worth, here is my system for cooling hot coolant water from the condensers:

IMG_4081.jpeg

It is a (new) car radiator encased in a wooden box, with a high CFM exhaust fan on the other side. (The fan blows outside through an open window) Hot water from the condensers enters the radiator at the bottom and after going through the radiator, the cooled water exits at the top left.

The sides of the radiator are sealed with rubber matting and duct tape to direct the flow through the radiator. The water reservoir is a 60 liter HDPE barrel. The chicken wire 'shield' at the air inlet side is to prevent damage to the radiator fins.

In this configuration, over a 5 hour run with plenty of reflux (32lt of wash, 3" CCVM), the reservoir temperature stabilizes at (and does not exceed) 10 to 12 degrees celcius above ambient.

I am yet to test its performance during summer, but I did a 'stress test' using only water in the boiler and maximum flame from my 6kw propane stove, and it still held steady at around 10-12 C above ambient temperature. It is a bit bulky and heavy, but for me it is worth it since it keeps the coolant temperature stable and reflux is predictable, and I do not have to keep changing coolant mid-run.

[Windy City]

I would recommend switching the flow so the hot water goes into the top of the radiator and the cooled water comes out the bottom for better efficiency.

[Deplorable]

I would recommend switching the flow so the hot water goes into the top of the radiator and the cooled water comes out the bottom for better efficiency.

I was thinking the same thing. Heat rises, so you will get more cooling power if the heat comes in at the top and the temperature drops more as the water runs down through the radiator capillaries. I've been tinkering with the idea of building one of these so I can stop using city water for cooling even though my water bill isn't significantly impacted by my hobby.

[firepower]

Ahh, thank you guys for the suggestion. I will try it. My reasoning was for it to enter at the bottom and exit the top to prevent air bubbles which would reduce the heat exchange. Also it appears the image host deleted my photo for some reason. Strange.

[Yummyrum]

. Also it appears the image host deleted my photo for some reason. Strange.

I managed to find a washed out version on imgur of your pic .
Please don’t use pic hosting . Put your pics on this forum as attachments

[shadylane]

Just asking, have you squabbled the solder joints to see if lead solder was used?
It wouldn't matter if the heat exchanger is only being used for a chiller, because any lead contaminated water would never touch the vapor.
But if everything is lead free then maybe use what you have as an air-cooled condenser. No pump, reservoir or other things would be needed.
Feed the alcohol vapor into the top of the air-cooled condenser and drain the liquid out the bottom.
I don't know what the rules where when the "heat exchanger out of a tankless water heater for a couple of year" ago was.
Any ways it's best to test than be wrong.

IMG_4083.jpeg

[30xs]

I would recommend switching the flow so the hot water goes into the top of the radiator and the cooled water comes out the bottom for better efficiency.

I agree. Coolest water will be on the bottom.

For me, running my water at minimum rate seemed to help. Hotter exit water, but moving slower seemed to give it more time in front of the fan to cool off.

[Corn Cracker]

Just asking, have you squabbled the solder joints to see if lead solder was used?
It wouldn't matter if the heat exchanger is only being used for a chiller, because any lead contaminated water would never touch the vapor.
But if everything is lead free then maybe use what you have as an air-cooled condenser. No pump, reservoir or other things would be needed.
Feed the alcohol vapor into the top of the air-cooled condenser and drain the liquid out the bottom.
I don't know what the rules where when the "heat exchanger out of a tankless water heater for a couple of year" ago was.
Any ways it's best to test than be wrong.

IMG_4083.jpeg

Shady, everything manufactured that has potable water going through, has to be lead free, for over 20 years now here in the US. I used this for several runs till i made a better PC.
I think it has too many bends and would be difficult to get unsmeared product. I might look at it again from that perspective bit in my minds eye it would not drain completely and smear

[BigSwede]

Nice, I like anything that reduces the effort needed. Fewer buckets, all good.

Suggestion: In the aquarium hobby, there are powered water cooler devices that plug in, and recirculated water from delicate fish tanks is routed over typically a titanium heat exchanger. Essentially a box with water in/out ports, a plug, and a dial, all very clean and safe to use. I'm guessing they would not be cheap at all, but maybe find one used? It'd be just the thing for a closed loop cooling system.

[Born_Free]

I've been kicking the idea of using it for a while, today was the day.

Nice work.

I found getting the flow rate above 5 gpm really improved the performance, I'm using a 1/3 hp sump pump, will go to 1/2 hp next time.

I'm in a much colder climate but I only use a 5 gallon bucket now.

[Corn Cracker]

1 5gl bucket would be nice. Since i changed up my pc's I'm running a lot cooler now, a trickle of water is all I'm using, seriously, at least ¼ of what i used to use.

[shadylane]

If I was going to build a chiller here would be a good $80 starting point. A pump would also be needed.

Universal 12V Auto Truck Underdash Compact Heater.

[shadylane]

I've seen a couple of pics of car radiators being used with a fan blowing across them, I didn't have an extra one of those around, although I might be able to get one free soon. I could keep the fans mounted to it and run them off a power converter. Hmmm

I'm impressed with the copper fined tubes you have, wished I could find something like that in a junk store.

[Corn Cracker]

Those tankless heaters are.....well, were coming down in price. I see em 2nd hand every now and then

[subbrew]

I love building things but simple will work with the right parameters. I do all of my distilling in the late fall, winter and early spring months. Use a 55 gal barrel for a water reservoir. I fill it at the beginning of the season and use it all season. If it has been warm so my starting water temp is in the 50s it will start to get too warm by the end of a 10 hour spirit run. But if it is say 40 or 45 degrees ambient temp, just putting a fan blowing across the top of the barrel will make at least a 20 degree difference in how warm the barrel water gets. It still might get up in the 90s but not the 120 it could get with no fan.

[BigSwede]

just putting a fan blowing across the top of the barrel will make at least a 20 degree difference in how warm the barrel water gets. It still might get up in the 90s but not the 120 it could get with no fan.

Evaporative cooling is definitely a player. In New Mexico, we didn't have AC for a house, we had a thing called a "swamp cooler." Just a water pump that trickled water over a porous filter screen thing, and the air handler blew air through it to the rest of the house. Very cheap to run, but jacked the humidity way up!

For a still, maybe a trough that dribbles water down through some sort of mesh and having a fan blowing through that, might really boost cooling. There will be evaporative losses, but not enough to worry about over 12 hours of running.

[BigSwede]

Thought I'd add to this thread rather than start a new one. My entire operation is being rebooted. In the past, I needed 100 feet of filthy, muddy garden hose get dragged into the shop, routed back to drain into our garden area. It sucked.

MANY years ago, I had an aquarium that got hot, so I bought an aquarium chiller. Basically a little fridge unit with a heat exchanger. I finally dragged it out, cleaned the rodent shit and acorn shells out of it, and plumbed it for a test. I held out little hope, but older units hold their freon apparently, and it came back to life.

Cooler02.jpg

Couldn't be simpler. Water in, water out, and a thermostat, so if I want my condenser source water to be 80 f. or less, dial 80 f.

Cooler01.jpg

So far so good, but the math is escaping me. Will it work? The data plate for the chiller has 1/6 hp compressor, 400 watts, so 400 watt-hours should deliver 1365 BTU of chilling in a perfect world. I have a 13 gallon boiler, and an electric supply for it up to 5KW, although I don't think I'd ever have it jacked up that high. For reference, 1 KW = 3400 BTU/hour. But a lot of heat added to a still does dissipate in air. I'm no thermo guy.

I'd love to dump the garden hoses and have a compact, closed-loop system. I'm thinking if I start with a large enough reservoir at room temp, there's a lot of thermal inertia there. Add in the chiller, maybe it'll keep up. Thoughts?

[zach]

So far so good, but the math is escaping me. Will it work? The data plate for the chiller has 1/6 hp compressor, 400 watts, so 400 watt-hours should deliver 1365 BTU of chilling in a perfect world. I have a 13 gallon boiler, and an electric supply for it up to 5KW, although I don't think I'd ever have it jacked up that high. For reference, 1 KW = 3400 BTU/hour. But a lot of heat added to a still does dissipate in air. I'm no thermo guy.

With 5 KW heat input to your boiler, your condenser will reject 4 KW of heat if you have 20% losses to atmosphere from the boiler and piping

4 KW of cooling which is equivalent to 13,648 Btu/hr or 1.14 tons refrigeration. You'll need a 1 to 1.5 hp chiller to keep up with this load. This 1/6 hp aquarium chiller will not keep up.

[Username]

What size reservoir's are you guys running. Would like to cut down on water usage. I don't have much room for water storage however, maybe I could manage a 200l (50 gallons) barrel

[zach]

For a 200 liter reservoir the temperature will increase 4.5 C per hour for every KW of heat rejected by the condenser.

So if you run at 1.5 KW for five hours and start at 25 C the tank will approach 60 C unless you can cool the barrel.

I'm not sure how others get by with reservoirs as my stripping runs are usually two hours in the 8 kw range. I use a swimming pool. I have friend that irrigates his lawn with the water when making a run.

I've seen where others have used an air cooled heat exchangers like this to cool condenser water.

oil cooler.jpg

[BigSwede]

With 5 KW heat input to your boiler, your condenser will reject 4 KW of heat if you have 20% losses to atmosphere from the boiler and piping

4 KW of cooling which is equivalent to 13,648 Btu/hr or 1.14 tons refrigeration. You'll need a 1 to 1.5 hp chiller to keep up with this load. This 1/6 hp aquarium chiller will not keep up.

Lemme think this through.

1 BTU raises 1 pound of water 1 degree f. You'd need 8.34 BTU per gallon, per degree.
If I had a 30 gallon reservoir, it'd require 250 BTU to raise the reservoir 1 degree f.
Assume reservoir is at 70 f. To take it to 100 f, 30 x 250 = 7500 BTU

Now, I run 3KW into the still for 1 hour = 10,245 BTU. 20% heat loss, now we're at 8196 BTU to condense over that hour. In theory then, with no chilling, our 30 gallon reservoir will be somewhere north of 100 deg. f.

My little chiller perhaps soaks up 3400 BTU. If I'm lucky. 8196 - 3400 = 4796 BTU, reservoir climbs from 70 f. to about 90 f. Run the still for 4 hours, water will be pretty hot. Well, shit. I may just try it once on a strip, have a bag of ice on hand.

Here's where I'm baffled. Somehow, 3 dinky PC muffin fans can deal with almost 3 kilowatts, yet a 1/6 hp compressor fridge thing won't?

[pipes+hose]

Your 400 watt cooler doesn't delete 400 watts of heat. It uses 400 watts of electricity to TRANSFER a bunch of heat from one place to another. Just like an air-condition, heat pump, etc. One place is your hot coolant line, another is the air. So if you're in a house or room you'll need air flow away to get rid of the heat.

So it might transfer 1600 watts of heat or so. Not enough to take care of everything but more help than 400 w.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coefficie ... erformance

Pc fans:
I didn't read all the thread but if you also have a fans on a radiator, that will be more energy efficient.... But not be able to hit as low a temp (i expect).

Try this chiller as the final step in your recirculation set up before the condenser. Also try it as an earlier step , for science! See which hits a lower coolant injection temp after things equalizes.